RAWROD '08

I was one of about 50 riders on Kenny’s Annual Ride Around White Rim in One Day (RAWROD) on Saturday.  Mags, Darren and Ryan were too.  It’s a hundred miles of rocky road through Canyonlands National Park.  I’d done it before in 2005 and bonked around mile 90 because I didn’t see the final rest stop.  Maybe I’d already bonked and just rode on past it. 

This year I vowed to take it easy, to go slow and to have more fun.  I wanted to ride with Mags and some folks I don’t normally get to ride with, so I took my brand new single speed out for what would be only my 4th single speed ride.  Ever. 

The day went exactly as planned.  I prodded Mags early to stick with the group, because I know riding 100 miles alone is no fun.  I made excuses to stop a lot to make sure she was in front of me.  She made it the all the way but had to walk up Horse thief, but I almost did too.  It’s 2.8 miles and straight up—well, at least it feels straight up.  That was one of the few times I wished I had extra gears.

Here are some photos from the trip.

Fish, living Aloha...

Mags, doing her first century ride not spent staring at my butt...

Me, second-guessing my single speed decision...

Darren powers up Murphy's Hogback...

Ryan cleans Hardscrabble as a birthday present to himself...

Fish celebrates his finish with a Cock 'n Bull...

Mags had the dirtiest legs of all...

Thanks, Kenny, for putting it all together.   It got me thinking about my own epic ride.  Anybody interested in repeating the RAGSLOW with me this fall?